


Close Spaces

by AntigravityDevice



Series: A Lightless Deep And A Starry Space [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Action, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-28 05:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntigravityDevice/pseuds/AntigravityDevice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Vega knows one thing for sure: nothing ever goes as planned on Collector ships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Close Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much, junemermaid, for the timely encouragement and for the insightful beta! You're golden, darling. Mwah.

"Shepard, I have detected something in the ring around Holios." EDI was only that vague when she wanted to tickle someone's curiosity. It worked; Shepard looked up from the inventory list Vega had brought her. Vega kicked himself up from a casual lean against one of the consoles around the galaxy map and followed her to the bridge. Hey, why not, he was curious too. Joker smiled up at him, in on the joke.

Shepard leaned on the back of EDI's chair. "Show us, EDI."

The shutters slid out of the way, and the milky blue planet Holios loomed ahead. This close the ring was a mess of space dust and ice chunks instead of a smooth white band. At first, Vega couldn't see anything. Space. Great. The quiet was a welcome change of pace - he'd seen one planet covered in Reaper forces too many - but they weren't here for the sights. 

The bulk of the ship glided into view from behind Holios, and that shut his thoughts right the fuck up. He'd seen those before, up close and personal. It was a Collector ship, weird and uncomfortably familiar. It wasn't the biggest he'd seen, but it was still daunting.

"No life signs or comm traffic, it's just sitting there," Joker put in. "But we all know how that goes."

Shepard's interest was visible. "It seems intact. Any signs of combat?"

"The asteroids around Holios show residual signs of heavy gunfire," EDI said. "The turians recently escorted war provisions through this system. It is possible this ship was disabled as they provided covering fire for the provision ships."

"All right, we'll check it out. It might have some Prothean data for the Crucible team."

"Better not let Javik hear you say that, Commander," Joker said, looking goddamn gleeful at the prospect.

Shepard just shrugged. "I think we'll keep him out of the firing line this time. He'd want to nuke it on sight. Good find, EDI. Reaper tech always comes in handy, too." She turned back to Vega. "James, get Cortez to fire up the Kodiak. I'll go round up our experts."

"No room aboard for me, then, Lola?" Well, he had to ask. He was going stir-crazy in the shuttle bay. And there was that saying about getting back on the horse after a fall. He owed the universe a big pile of dead Collectors. He had been starting to think he had lost his chance.

Shepard still didn't like the name much, he could tell. "Not much for you to shoot, James. We'll salvage what we can and get out."

"Way I figure, that's not how it usually goes on these Collector ships." Vega crossed his arms over his chest. "Your techs can't use another pair of eyes keeping watch while they do their thing?"

She considered for just a second. "Grab your gear. We'll play this one safe."

*

The ship was eerily quiet upon approach. It looked like it had been there for some time; space did that, added some wear and tear to even the sturdiest ships. Vega didn't know whether to feel disappointed that the Collectors were most likely long gone. All the better for the scientists, though. Shepard had brought Phan, a woman with a lopsided hairdo who'd said "no offence" before throwing a shot of vodka in Vega's face, Nejem, a quiet engineer he'd seen around the Normandy and a new xenoanalyst guy called Suvanto, grizzled and steady-eyed in a way that screamed career Alliance. They huddled together, syncing their omni-tools and going through data gathering priorities. Vega had already checked his guns and now kept his own tally: Phan moved like she could dodge a bullet or two, Nejem was all legs and no balance, and Suvanto was slow but well-trained. He'd lost enough people under his protection to last a lifetime. He'd be as prepared to protect these guys as he could be.

"The doors to the hangar bay are open, Commander," Cortez said over his shoulder. "EDI's sensors don't detect any signs of activity, and I'm not picking up anything, either. Looks like it's dead in the water. You want me to drop you there?"

Shepard looked up, as if shaken from her thoughts. "Yeah, why not. It would be nice to walk in through the front door for once." She got up and checked her pistol. She never packed any serious firepower on short missions like this. Reckless, but hey, biotics. "Actually, why don't you grab a breather and join us? We could use the tech expertise."

Cortez's hesitation had everything to do with leaving the Kodiak unattended, Vega knew that much. "Sure, Commander. If you need me ship-side, that's where I'll be. I didn't bring much in the way of weaponry, though."

Vega grabbed his shotgun and tossed it over. "'Ey, Esteban! Caught without your gear? That requisitions officer title is just for show, huh?"

Cortez gave the shotgun a brief once-over before focusing on the Kodiak's controls again. "Who got you that custom-designed stability damper on your rifle, Mr. Vega?"

"A shop clerk on the Citadel, probably."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Sorry, Commander. Mr. Vega is thinking quantity over quality again."

" _A viente_! That ain't just any gun you're holding there, Esteban. I want it back after this."

Shepard looked amused, but she eyed them sharply. "That's enough, you two. Get ready."

"Touching down in two minutes," Cortez said, snapping back to rank. Shepard ran the craziest ship in Council space, but she was still Alliance, and Cortez knew that and respected that as much as Vega did.

He added one more to his tally. While Esteban could fly through any battle like a wasp outta hell, his aim was for shit in close quarters, and Vega wasn't going to lose the few friends he had left.

*

Shepard led the way through the open hangar to the nearest corridor. As EDI had said, everything was powered down. They got the doors open with a good tug and discovered that there was still oxygen inside. Nejem ran a quick diagnostic and declared they could take off the helmets and breathers. Vega was glad to do so until he discovered it was hot enough to be stifling. Sweat trickled down his neck as they looked around in the wide corridor, their lights flickering over the uneven, shielded walls. It was a familiar Collector ship and it wasn't. For one, he was relieved to notice there were no pods.

"There's some kinda goo on the walls and ceiling," he commented. It didn't look like something he'd like to step on.

"Could be the mycelium of a mold fungus," Suvanto mused, and took a sample flask out of his pocket.

Shepard got on the comm. "EDI? Adjust the sensors to algae and molds. There seems to be something growing in here."

"That is correct," EDI confirmed after a moment. "Dr. Suvanto's analysis is accurate. It is a fungus that feeds on the biopolymers in spaceships. It is not generally found in such large quantities. It appears over 85% of the ship's interior is covered in it."

Shepard looked around, as if daring the fungus to attack them. "Any chance it could harm us?"

"No, Shepard. It is entirely nontoxic. But it appears the enzymes it produces react to the presence of certain bacteria by releasing heat. That explains the atmospheric conditions Engineer Nejem's diagnostic test revealed."

"Heat?" Cortez walked across the corridor, his brows drawn together. "That doesn't sound good. Any chance it could blow up? Or just damage the ship?"

His eyes were following the thick lines of power cables running down the side of the corridor, half-covered in the slimy brown stuff.

"No," Suvanto said, his gaze fixed on his screen. "The effect grows weaker once it reaches a certain plateau, otherwise it would damage the mold. I would hazard that it's a symbiotic relationship that helps the fungus grow, but this is not really my area of expertise."

"Okay, people, we won't let a little heat stop us," Shepard declared, indicating another door with her pistol. "We'll keep following those cables until we reach a control panel. Move out."

Not longer after the second door, there was a fork in the corridor. The path they passed probably led to the hangar control room. They pressed on, sweating quietly, as the techs' omni-tools flickered and flashed in the darkness. Vega walked behind the others, keeping guard. They'd need to find some way to get some lights on in this place. It was hard to keep track of people, especially with the corridors being so damn wide. At least he could tell where Cortez was from the lights on the special-modded shotgun.

They finally reached a terminal, or what the bugs considered a terminal, anyway, and let Phan loose to fiddle with it. Nejem and Cortez helped her out by clearing off the mold and removing some of the shielding so they could get to the wires. Shepard pointed out that the long corridor curved outward and the ceiling was higher closer to the center of the ship; there was probably a big chamber in the middle, possibly a center of operations. Once they had the basic layout, they should start making their way there.

“It's a monitoring panel, Commander,” Phan said triumphantly as the lights flickered on. “I've isolated the unit and hooked it up to the power outlet of my omni-tool. Downloading the schematics of the ship... now.”

Vega moved closer to take a look at the map of the ship. It glowed yellow, giving off enough light to finally see everyone properly. Simple enough design, corridors from the hangar going round the ship, control in the center, maintenance in the back. Walls were a bit thick, but otherwise it reminded him of a drop ship.

“There is a central chamber,” Shepard pointed out. “But I'm not seeing any kind of processing equipment or pods. What were they doing in here?”

“Not just transportation,” said Cortez, who also thought Alliance in terms of ship design. “See those engines? You'd get no serious speed and barely any maneuverability. All that juice is going somewhere else.”

“Phan, can you get any specifics on the operations of the ship?” Shepard put away her pistol in order to fire up her own omni-tool.

Phan skimmed over a screenful of the squigglies that passed for Collector writing. "Negative on that, Commander. This unit doesn't have any specifics in its databanks. It monitors atmospheric conditions and coordinates sensors. I'd have to access the intranet, and for that, we need to turn the main power on."

"Well, we were on our way to the central chamber anyway," Shepard said, and motioned for her to wrap things up.

Vega stepped closer to Cortez, speaking low so the commander couldn't hear. "Can't say I like this. We're supposed to be shutting these things down, not powering them up."

"It's just a ship, Mr. Vega," Cortez said. "Any Collector we find, I'm sure the commander won't mind if we shut it down."

"Well, yeah, I'm just sayin'. Stick close, _amigo_."

*

The central chamber was too vast for their lights to map. Vega felt like they were in the stomach of a whale; the way the uncomfortably organic-looking walls curved resembled a huge ribcage. The mold was even thicker here, and his hopes for cooler air in the bigger space were crushed. The techs passed water flasks among themselves as they picked up bits and pieces for later analysis, and they weren't even in heavy armor.

Phan checked and rechecked things with EDI until Shepard finally gave the affirmative nod. The power hummed on, lighting up the central computer and gradually, the rest of the chamber. Holy shit, the place was big. The yellow light made it feel even hotter, and Vega took a gulp of water as he checked the corners of the room for movement. 

Wait a minute, was that just heat haze or did the walls sort of... ripple?

"Possible movement in the walls!" he called out. At the same time, Suvanto yelled, "Commander, I'm picking up life signs!"

Shepard's gaze swept over the chamber. "Where the hell did they come from? Phan, talk to me!"

"I'm getting a power surge to some kind of... it's a life support system." Phan read feverishly, throwing data pages aside as soon as she'd skimmed them. "Commander, I think we're in an incubation chamber. They were dormant until we turned the power back on. There's a-- I'm reading at least five hundred and six life forms in the room."

She had barely finished her sentence before the first wall burst open and the Collector spawn erupted into view. 

"Covering fire!" Shepard shouted, gesturing for them to form a tight group. 

Vega sprayed the first two's brains before their eyes had even flickered open. When he spun around to cover Nejem's back, he realized these weren't ordinary Collectors. The one Suvanto splattered to the ground had six insect legs. The one behind it walked on two legs but its eyes were one big gaping hole of light in its head. No wonder the ugly bastards had been left sleeping here; some kind of failed experiments, maybe. And they kept coming, breaking through the membranes of the walls, higher and higher up.

Aw, hell. This wasn't good.

"Commander, we're getting rained on!"

"Almost finished downloading the databanks!" Phan told Shepard, sweeping her sweaty bangs out of her eyes.

"Clear the way to the corridor!" Shepard's biotics made one of the spawn burst in the air like a water balloon. Phan didn't even twitch when the wet remains splashed her.

Suvanto ejected a thermal clip. From the careful way he took aim, Vega figured he was down to his last one. Nejem hadn't drawn his pistol. "What the hell did the Reapers do to these things?"

Nothing pretty. It had been a good call not to bring Javik with them. At least the creatures weren't holding guns, but some looked more like Javik than any Collector he'd ever seen, and that was just messed up.

Vega was really glad he'd given Cortez that shotgun. It cleared away Collectors like no one's business, even though he preferred his assault rifle. "We gotta go, Commander! We're getting swarmed!"

"Got it!" Phan's omni-tool glowed for a second and then dimmed, and she drew her gun, jumping down from the computer platform. Nejem and Suvanto were already at the doorway, with Cortez covering them. Vega fell into step with Shepard.

"Nothin' much for me to shoot down here, eh, Lola?" he couldn't help quipping while they spent clips.

Blue biotics fire flew over his head and smashed a Collector spawn against the wall. "Back to the shuttle, Lieutenant, on the double," Shepard barked, giving him a push towards the door.

*

The corridor wasn't narrow, but it was good to have the doorway between the swarm of Collectors and them. Now they couldn't fall down upon their group like spiders in a cave. The door slammed closed. At first he thought Shepard had done it, but the commander was already on the other side of the corridor. The central chamber was locked down behind them.

Then all the corridor doors were flung open.

The sweat on Vega's skin turned cold. The goddamn bugs were isolating the part of the ship they were in. They were being flushed out.

"Helmets!" Shepard commanded, her own folding out over her head. "To the shuttle! Move, move!" 

Vega nudged Suvanto to run ahead of him. He could hear skittering and screeching around them; they weren't out of the swarm for sure. Those things moved in the walls.

The rapidly fleeing gravity and air turned things eerie. A section of the floor under Suvanto slid away with a rusty creak, and the man was sucked into the void of space so fast he didn't have a chance to scream. Vega cursed under his breath and dug his magnetic boots into the floor, bracing himself on the uneven wall. Another part of the corridor opened up ahead of him, but Shepard jumped over it, glowing with some biotic boost. Vega measured his steps as the corridor shook and creaked around him. Somewhere ahead of him, Phan flew through the air, then landed upside down and resumed running on the ceiling. With Suvanto gone, Cortez and Nejem now ran ahead of him, and he was gaining on them. Nejem was thrown off his feet, and the magnetic hold of his boots, when a section fell off right next to him. Cortez spun around and managed to catch him, hauling him to his feet. Just when Vega was about to congratulate him, the rest of the corridor floor crackled. Dropping the hatches open had made the structure of the old ship give in around them. The whole goddamn corridor was breaking in half, and Cortez scrambled for a hold on the rapidly disappearing floor.

"Oh no you fucking don't!" Vega jumped forward, stuck his boots to the wall and reached down for Cortez. "Esteban! C'mon!"

He stretched his arms into the gaping void, blood rushing into his head, and caught hold of something. Not a hand like he'd been hoping for; it was the damn M-22 Eviscerator, but Cortez still had his hand wrapped around its other end, and that was all that mattered. Vega braced himself better and pulled before Cortez's grip could slip. Man, was he happy that Cortez wasn't in heavy armor like he was, because he was fighting against the air current as well. Sweat drops fell down on the visor of his helmet, smudging his vision. He hoped Cortez would get a good handhold soon, because his foothold wouldn't be there forever.

Cortez's boot hit the floor, but in the same moment, it shattered from underneath them. They scrambled back for a solid place to plant their feet. The gulf between them and the others stretched too wide to leap across, but they had bigger problems. The corridor was disappearing from all around them. 

"Back to the chamber!" Cortez caught and steadied him and pointed at the door with the shotgun he was somehow still holding. "Before we're spaced!"

Vega could just make out Shepard's blue glow in what was left of the corridor ahead of them. No way to reach them now. _Mierda_. "Take point, Esteban. They'll be all over us when I get that door open."

When, not if. Emergency lockdown or not, he'd tear it down. Adrenaline sizzled through him. He'd need that. Cortez nodded, readying the shotgun and bracing himself on the wall. Vega quickly found a good hold on the uneven surface and yanked, then took a better hold and yanked again, grunting with the effort. He felt the open space behind them, the pull of the void. No way in hell; stupid fucking reason to die, not getting a door to open. He gave it another pull, so hard his arms felt like they were on fire, and metal scraped against metal as the door moved.

When the Collectors burst into view, pawing at them with their mutated bug legs, Cortez emptied the whole clip into them and then jumped inside through the rushing air. He slammed another clip into the shotgun and covered Vega as he followed suit. As the door clapped closed behind them, Vega found his feet. No need for magnetic boots here, but the Collectors swarmed from everywhere, and his body knew how to get back to back and into a defensive position even when his head scrambled to catch up.

"Commander, do you copy? Did you reach the shuttle?" he heard Cortez speaking into the comm, and then through the gunfire, Shepard's voice.

"Cortez! Are James and Suvanto with you?"

"Suvanto didn't make it, ma'am," Cortez replied, and Vega motioned for him to move. He could roughly remember the layout of the ship; it wasn't too complicated. "We're coming round the other side of the ship. Facing heavy resistance."

"Nothing we can't handle, Lola," Vega put in, punching a Collector's ugly deformed face in before shooting off its legs.

"We'll wait for you in the shuttle," Shepard said. "Don't stick around. We've got injured people that have to get back to the Normandy, and we need you to fly them there."

"Aye aye, Commander." Cortez put away the shotgun and grabbed his pistol instead. "You heard her!"

Vega laughed. Battle high; nothing like it. " _Chingalo_ , Esteban. She never lets us have any fun."

Cortez shot down a Collector, and kicked it out of their way. "Anyone ever tell you that you entertain yourself like a krogan, Mr. Vega?"

"Compliments! Nice." They fell back against the wall, having fought themselves a moment to catch their breath. "Want me to tear open another door?"

Cortez's omni-tool flared into a scan. "Give me a minute, I can find the locking mechanisms and work around them. I doubt this is the only door between us and the hangar."

Vega shoved a new clip into the assault rifle. "Okay. Great. Do that. I've got you."

"I know." Cortez's attention was fixed on his omni-tool, but he reached out with his free hand to grab Vega's upper arm. Even though he didn't feel the squeeze through the armor, the gesture was plain enough. "Thanks for saving my ass back there."

That one hit home, even in the middle of the battle rush - you didn't have to say stuff like that out loud, usually - but it was easy to hold his ground without any eye contact. " _De nada_. Get us out of here, yeah?"

"Working on it. Just a second... there." The door opened, and space stared back at them. Half the corridor was missing. Apparently, when the bugs flushed the corridors, they flushed all the corridors. "Crap. It's falling apart all over. Guess we're doing this hugging the wall."

At least the hangar wasn't far. "All right. I'll go first and clear the path."

Cortez gave a slow nod. "Watch your step." 

 

*

Vega didn't really have any choice. It was hard enough to stay on his feet without trying to sprint. The corridor was in shambles, buckling under their weight. He was reminded of trying to run through a swamp without sinking in - a swamp full of swarming man-sized bugs that tried to kill you. The Collectors scurried around in the walls, and they couldn't outrun them in zero gravity. Vega always carried extra clips wherever he could stick a pocket, but even he was starting to run out.

"Not far now," Cortez said. Right on cue, the whole corridor rumbled, throwing them against the wall as they tried to keep themselves upright. Chunks of the ceiling fell away, and then Vega had to jump aside because a section of the floor broke off. He looked at the rest of the corridor: they'd never make it if they didn't run. Now.

"We gotta run! Come on!"

Even through the helmet, he saw a panicked look flash across Cortez's face, and wished he hadn't looked. It was one thing to do crazy things because he didn't stop to think how crazy they were. It was another thing to know.

He ran anyway, and didn't stop to check if it was on bits of floor or ceiling or wall. Loose pieces of corridor whirled past. Never mind any of that; the hangar door was ahead.

Cortez was on the other side of the corridor, by the side path leading to the hangar control room. "Over here!"

Vega wanted to protest that they couldn't stop now that they still had some corridor left, but from the corner of his eye, he saw the hangar door rattling in its frame. Ah, shit. The fucking bugs were going to flush the part of the hangar that still had air, too. And if that air surge and chunk of metal hit him, he'd become a permanent part of Holios's ring.

There was nothing to step on between them, so he took a huge leap into nothing. Cortez reached out to clasp his arm, pulling him the rest of the way. Vega's boot touched the side corridor floor when the deafening roar of air rushed past, and the hangar door flew past them like a leaf in the wind. Cortez slipped, letting out a short cry as the hangar air threatened to take him to space with it.

He still had a hold on Cortez's arm, so Vega pulled against the current, putting his whole weight into it until he could tear Cortez into the side corridor with him. They fell into a heap, and Cortez's panicked noise turned into a ragged, pained groan.

"Son of a bitch! You almost tore my arm off!"

Vega pulled himself up to his feet with some difficulty, breathing hard and wondering how much air he had left in his suit. Adrenaline was melting off him, leaving aches behind. "Second time today. You're welcome, Esteban."

When Cortez picked himself up, his arm hung limply by his side, looking like it was attached to him all wrong. "Unh. Don't think I'm not... grateful, Mr. Vega, but... don't make a habit of it. I need my arms to fly my bird." He took a few breaths and met Vega's eyes, and Vega saw they thought of the same thing. Cortez called into his link, "Commander... Come in, Shepard, are you there? Did you make it out of the hangar? Commander!"

The comm link gave them only static as they limped towards the control room door.

Cortez made a face. "James... I can't get my arm up. Give me a hand here."

Shit. Esteban had to be hurting. He never called him James unless things were serious. They'd have to find some way to make him a sling or something.

Vega felt bad about moving Cortez's arm the moment he did it, hearing him bite back a groan, but it only took the omni-tool a second to work the door open. They shut it quickly behind them, so they could fold away their helmets and take in some air that wasn't canned.

"...tez? Come in, Cortez," the comm demanded, and _gracias a Dios_ , that was Shepard's voice.

"Commander." Cortez went to a terminal screen in front of the wide window giving them a view of the hangar below. He flicked the screen alive with his good hand. Vega leaned to look out into the dark hangar. He couldn't see the Kodiak anywhere. "You made it out of the ship."

"You both okay? Sorry we had to leave you behind. Things got a little heated."

"Everything's in order, ma'am. Just anxious to get back to the Normandy." 

"We'll get Phan to the med bay and come back to get you guys."

"There's a terminal here. I can check the security protocols in case of more surprises, if you can send Phan's decryption software into my omni-tool. I don't read Collector that well."

"On its way. Hang in there."

"Thanks, Commander. Appreciate it." Cortez closed his eyes for a moment as he switched off the comm, gathering his thoughts.

"So, what? Now we sit back and wait for the pickup?"

Cortez nodded, running his palm over his face. "I'm never leaving the Kodiak again," he muttered.

Vega snorted, taking the bandages out of the tight bundle of the field med kit. Shepard had had all the Medigel. "Yeah, you will. This is where all the fun happens. Let's get that arm fixed up. It's not broken or anything, is it?"

"Out of joint, I think. Probably pulled some tendons." Cortez's voice was quiet, the way it tended to get when he was holding himself together. He had been doing that a lot in the past year. "We need to set it first. You know how to fix a dislocated shoulder?"

"Rotate the arm until it clicks into place, right?" It would hurt like hell. Vega winced in sympathy. "Shit, man. I wish I had a bottle of mescal for you right now."

Cortez made a face and sat down on a crate. "Trust me, Mr. Vega, I'm not looking forward to this. But I need my arm."

Vega gave him a minute. He glanced around. The ceiling was high, which was good, more oxygen and that, but there wasn't much space otherwise. There was no furniture of course, it being a bug ship, just a couple of crates and the hangar control panels and terminal. The slimy mold was all over the walls in patches. Not a place where he wanted to hang out for any longer than he had to.

"Ready?" 

Vega did his best to be gentle, but there was no way to twist an arm back into its proper place without making Cortez feel every twitch. The joint made a nasty crunching sound when the shoulder slid into place. Cortez muttered a curse, but his hand squeezed into a fist instead of lying there, so it was worth it. Vega rested his hand on Cortez's good shoulder and got a relieved smile in return.

"Thank you." Cortez's smile widened, reached his eyes. "Sorry I lost your shotgun."

The soft, low tone and the blue eyes worked like a charm for Esteban. Vega wondered if his friend knew it and did it on purpose. He would. No one threw vodka at a face like that. "You can get me a new one."

"Ah, so now you suddenly trust my skill set again?"

Vega leaned against a crate and went for honesty instead of a quip. "Hey. Always. I'm just messin' with you."

If he had to be stuck in a moldy bug ship with someone, he was glad it was Esteban.

*

One makeshift sling later Cortez was busying himself with the Collector intranet data files. The guy just wasn't built for staying put. Fair enough, Vega thought; he got restless himself if he didn't get any target practice.

It was hot as hell, so Vega stripped off the armor, although he'd have to put it on again when the shuttle arrived. There was no air in the hangar, and soon enough, there wouldn't be any in the control room, either. They'd better breathe lightly, just in case it took Shepard a while. He picked up a crate and slid it over so Cortez could sit down while he worked. The Collectors weren't big on chairs.

"Anything?" he asked, after a while, mostly to shoot the shit and pass the time, but Cortez flipped open a page of ship defence protocols, and his expression turned grim.

"Maybe... Oh. What is... Oh, no." Cortez switched on the comm, on his omni-tool speaker so Vega could hear. "Commander? Commander, cancel the pickup. Do not approach the ship. Its automatic defences are on, and there's a powerful pulse cannon set to destroy all approaching vessels. I just checked. It's still operational."

Vega dragged the cannon specs into view. He doubted it could take out the Normandy, but a shuttle would be space junk with just one good shot.

"What?" Shepard sounded a little out of breath. "Okay, get me the defence system specs. I'll put EDI on cracking them ASAP. We'll get that cannon offline." She paused. "How long can you wait for us?"

"I'd estimate we have an hour or two," Cortez said. "Suit reserves included. Tell EDI to work fast, ma'am."

"I'll tell her to keep you posted," Shepard said, and the comm went silent.

Vega tried to keep breathing lightly, but his heart was thumping loud in his ears. "This is bad, right."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"Could we cut the power again? Turn the defences off that way?"

"Can't do it anywhere but in the central chamber. There are still a helluva lot of Collectors out there. Not to mention, no corridor. How many clips do you have?"

Vega ran a hand over his hair. It felt clammy with dried sweat. "The one in my assault rifle. You?"

"The one in my pistol."

They were very quiet for one chilly moment.

"Maybe I can find some way to clear the central chamber from here," Cortez said without any real conviction.

"Worth a look. Vent the bugs out or something. Only fair." Vega hopped onto a crate and peered into the corners of the ceiling. "I better check we're not losing any air through a small crack somewhere."

It was better than sitting around waiting for the oxygen to run out, so they threw themselves into the tasks without another word.

*

Eventually the thin air and exhaustion made them call a break. There was still no update from the Normandy, which told them all they needed to know. Vega leaned heavily against the wall, fighting the urge to breathe deep and fill his lungs with air, making every bite on his half of the protein bar count.

" _Tengo calor_ ," he mumbled, wiping sweat off his face with the hem of his t-shirt.

When he turned to Cortez to ask for the water flask, he caught him staring. No, checking him out, slow-like. Vega knew the difference.

Cortez looked somewhere past him, then averted his gaze altogether, but didn't get flustered. He handed him the water flask before Vega remembered to ask for it.

"See something you like, Esteban?" The teasing came so naturally, and he shifted his weight, pleased with himself. 

"Well, it's not high praise if I say I'd rather look at you than anything else in this room."

The quiet confidence in Cortez's demeanor was making Vega feel self-conscious. That just wasn't right. He didn't do self-conscious. "Glad to hear I've still got it."

Cortez gave him a weird smile. "Never lost it, Mr. Vega."

The thin air suddenly seemed thick in his lungs. Maybe it was just the heat. Maybe it was a fading adrenaline rush. It felt a bit like it, all heady and irresistible. "'Ey. Come over here," fell out of his mouth in a low mumble.

Cortez did get up, his face somehow more alive with the smile than it had been in ages. He remembered seeing this Esteban when they'd first met, the one with the easy smiles and bad jarhead jokes. "You're really flirting with me, James?"

James. Fuck. Proof positive he couldn't turn this thing around and call it a joke now. "I dunno. It's been over an hour since... I mean, how do you wanna spend your last moments alive, then?"

Cortez's expression closed with an almost audible clash.

It took Vega a second, but when it hit him, it hit like a krogan headbutt. Aww, shit. Shit, shit, shit. He was a fucking idiot. How many times had he pretended not to notice Esteban playing that last message, over and over? He might as well have suggested they run out to the fucking fields. What a fucking time he picked to be such a shit to a guy he respected so much.

"I guess I'm not ready to give up yet," Cortez said, so softly Vega had trouble making out the words.

Figuring the safest bet was to keep his big mouth shut, Vega nodded. So... this was the part where he gracefully pretended his ego wasn't hurt, and ordered a double, then. Except there were no shots here and all he could do was flex his hands uselessly at his sides. He wondered if he should apologize, or if it would just add insult to injury.

"I've got an idea." Cortez interrupted his train of thought. He had a contemplative look, which was at least better than hurt. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before. " He turned back to the screen to dig through the Collector data again. "A ship this size has to have a maintenance transport somewhere, even if all the shuttles are gone. The defences don't react to anything leaving the ship, so if we could find one, and get it fixed in time..."

Vega came to peer at the screen over his shoulder, awkwardness momentarily shoved aside. "In less than an hour? All suited up? You're good, Esteban, but are you that good?"

"I don't see--" Cortez turned to him, which brought their faces very close to one another. He looked past him and then down, a reaction Vega now recognized, and went on a little more carefully, "I don't see any other option, if EDI can't disarm the cannon in time. And we can save time on the diagnostics if I find the maintenance transport details in the database. Any air we breathe here instead of in our suits is an advantage."

Vega didn't move back and put more distance between them, although he felt maybe he should. "Who even knows how long they've been lying around here? I dunno, man. I don't like it. Too many, uh..."

"Unknowns? I can't argue with that. But it's a shot."

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. If they wanted to do something, it needed to be now.

"Okay, Esteban. Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"You could find me some tools while I look for the transport. I'm down one arm, so I'll need you to lend a hand every now and then. It moves now but I can't exactly do any heavy lifting."

Vega nodded. "Can do. Let me see what I've got."

He was about to turn away, when Cortez's voice snapped his attention back to him.

"James?"

It was hard to meet those steady blue eyes. He wasn't sure if it was guilt churning in his insides. "Yeah?"

"Did you mean it?"

Wow, that was vague. There was only one thing Cortez could be referring to, though.

"I guess. Yeah." He was way too worn out for anything but the truth.

"Okay." A hint of a smile touched the corners of Cortez's eyes. "In that case, I'm flattered, but I'm going to have to take a rain check nonetheless. Put your guns away, Mr. Vega. I'd rather not be distracted while I look for our ride."

Vega shoved his shirt down and grinned. They might suffocate on a bug ship, but at least they didn't have to do it being all awkward with each other.

*

To Vega's delight, they ended up shooting down the window rather than risking the corridor again. It felt satisfying to break anything on a Collector ship, even if it meant from then on they were stuck inside the suits. Joker kept sending them reassuring updates that EDI was "almost there", but in the meantime, they had work to do.

There was one maintenance transport, like Cortez had predicted. It was an ugly bastard covered in the gooey mold and space dust from sitting in the corner of the open hangar bay for so long. It looked like a shuttle to Vega, but every time he called it that, Cortez reacted like he'd insulted his mother. They didn't talk while they set to work on it, to save oxygen. Vega mostly kept out of Cortez's way, keeping watch in case the Collectors found them and letting Joker know of their progress. Cortez's omni-tool was on his bad arm, so he ended up taking it out of the sling constantly, and Vega heard through the comm how the pain made him take deep and sudden breaths. They were cutting it fine with the oxygen as it was; Vega knew Cortez knew it, and he didn't say anything.

His head already felt light when they climbed inside. The shuttle was as comfortable as anything the Collectors - or Reapers - made, but they fit in fine.

"You okay, Esteban?"

He didn't look okay. He raised the bad arm again, omni-translator turning the squigglies on the screens into other squigglies, then into letters. The engine's hum was closer to a rattle, but at least the damn thing started. "I'll... get us there. Provided the stabilizers will hold."

"As long as we get out of the range of that cannon, right?"

"Exactly."

Vega saw that the omni-tool hand shook. "Maybe I sh--"

"We're in the middle of a planetary ring system, Mr. Vega," Cortez said right over him, and the shuttle jerked forward before the dampeners caught up with the momentum. "Tons of debris. This transport is even less maneuverable than a Kodiak. Trust me... you want me to fly."

It wasn't what he wanted, but he couldn't argue against it. "Take us home, then."

He bumped his armored fist against Cortez's good arm, and Cortez nodded. They shut up, mindful of the oxygen again, as Cortez took the transport out into open space.

It wasn't exactly open, though. Vega wondered now how the hell Cortez had flown the Kodiak to the ship without making it feel like they were dodging rocks and ice all the way. Having a front row seat instead of riding in the back as usual gave it a whole new perspective.

The shuttle dipped dangerously, jarring Vega out of his thoughts and carefully measured breaths.

"Whoa!"

"S'ry about that," Cortez gasped. His eyes were threatening to fall shut. The side of the shuttle scraped across a boulder, but hopefully it hadn't shaved off anything important. "I'm... uh."

Some of the screens were starting to blink alarm. Vega nudged Cortez. "Hey! Stay with me, man. We're almost there!"

Cortez's omni-tool flared red where it measured his suit's oxygen levels, and then dimmed. His hand fell through the projected control panel, and the rest of him would've followed suit if Vega hadn't kept him up. The letters on the screens started flickering back to squigglies, leaving Vega to guess where everything was. A huge chunk of space rock came hurtling towards them, and Vega scrambled for the controls, swerving them out of the way. The whole shuttle jumped, and his head hit the ceiling. Thanks to the armor, he barely felt it, but the shuttle stuttered in its course. Thrusters. Fuck. 

"Normandy!" he yelled into the comm link. "You there? Cortez is down and I'm gettin' real tired of this tincan! We out of cannon range yet?"

"...there, lieutenant! We're coming to get you!" Joker's voice was almost drowned in static. That bump against the ceiling must've screwed with the comm link. Damn flimsy-ass helmet. He needed to get it reinforced.

Another icy rock whirled past, way too close, before Vega managed to get the remaining thruster to stop veering them to one side. 

"ETA?"

"...ris in the way. EDI says... ...ive minutes."

"Hell no! We'll be..." He had to stop to take a breath. Speaking was getting difficult. His tongue scraped his mouth. "We'll be vegetables by then!"

The Normandy was right ahead; that was the frustrating part. It was just some rocks and ice he needed to evade, not an enemy squad. And it would be a lot easier for their little tincan than the Normandy.

"You can kill me later for this," he mumbled, vision swimming with the oxygen deprivation, and hit the remaining thruster into overdrive. "Normandy, we're comin' in! Catch!"

The first boulder dug into the left side of the shuttle hard, but he didn't care about a few holes in the hull at that point. He managed to dodge the next one by taking a dive, and the third missed them out of sheer luck, clearing the path to the Normandy. 

You were best at what you did the most. He was pretty good at crashing shuttles and saving the day. He threw Cortez to the floor with him to shield him from the crash, gulping for air that wasn't there. 

After that there was nothing but his armor's sensors screeching in his ears about danger before everything turned shaky and dark.

 

*

His first thought when he woke up was that he really ought to adjust his armor's sensor specs.

He felt more or less intact. Limbs still attached, everything moving. He drew in a lungful of sweet air and let it out slowly before opening his eyes. When his eyes focused, Dr. Chakwas was there. That made sense, since all the white surfaces said he was in the med bay. She wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise before she flashed her scanners over him and told him to follow her finger and not touch that Medigel patch on his forehead.

He was just about to poke at it anyway when Shepard walked in. Vega got up, since he felt like he could, only to regret it at once when his head started to pound. He wondered how long he'd been out like a light.

"James, you're up."

"Hey."

Shepard didn't wait for his shaken brain to come up with anything more than that. "How is he, Dr. Chakwas?"

"Impossible and on his feet against doctor's orders, so I'd say back to normal." She read something on her omni-tool. "As long as he doesn't take part in any frontline attacks on the Reapers for a few days, he should be fine. That knock on the head didn't cause any significant damage, and the hypoxia was very mild."

"Doing good, Lola," Vega confirmed, scratching his temple. "Sorry for coming in hot like that. Figured I'd rather not wait around."

He was about to ask about Cortez, when Shepard crossed her arms over her chest. Uh oh. "And if you'd stayed on the comm link for a few more seconds, you might've heard we had a plan for bringing you in. One that didn't involve crashing a shuttle. Again."

"I'm afraid Mr. Vega's plans are on the predictable side, Commander." 

Cortez flashed him a wry smile when he turned around to look at him. He was on the next bunk, the crappy one in the corner that had creaked ever since that krogan lady had called it her own when she'd been onboard. He hadn't bothered to stand up, but then again, he looked a little tired. His arm was in a proper sling, and his standard issue Alliance shirt was missing its sleeve. He had just taken off an oxygen mask, and seemed to be savouring the air as much as Vega did.

"Hey, it saved your ass, didn't it?" Vega hadn't really thought either of them would not make it, he never wanted to think that, but he was damn glad to see Cortez awake and talking. It was a hit to the gut when his people went down. Especially Esteban.

Dr. Chakwas turned to Cortez with her omni-tool. "Hmm. The tendons in your shoulder should heal as long as you let it rest, Lieutenant. We'll keep you on standard pain medication and do another scan of your premotor cortex later. And please keep the oxygen mask on. That's the best medicine I can give you right now."

Cortez took the mask off again in order to ask, "So my motor functions should be fine in the long run?"

Dr. Chakwas saw right through him. "We'll have you back in that shuttle soon enough. I see no reason to believe otherwise. Mask _on_ , please."

She turned away and rolled her eyes at Shepard, apparently thinking Vega couldn't see her do it. She was a treasure, no doubt about it.

"Anyway, I'm glad you both pulled through," Shepard said. "Phan's out of the med bay, too. We did get some valuable data out of that incubation ship. They're still sorting it out back there." Her expression tightened at the edges. "Traynor is tracing Dr. Suvanto's people, to give them the news. I should go."

Suvanto. Vega had already forgotten. It stung, like failure always did. "Collector ships, Lola. I told you. Nothin' ever goes as planned on them." He decided to sit down after all. His head was killing him. "Catch you later."

With the commander gone, it got quiet again. Dr. Chakwas sat down at her desk and started typing away, ignoring the two of them.

"Hey, Esteban." He threw his legs over the bed and turned completely around so he could look at Cortez without having to move his head too much. "Feeling all right?"

Cortez lowered the mask. "She's got me flying on the best drugs Alliance can afford. I'm feeling no pain at all, Mr. Vega."

"Maybe she can get me some. How 'bout it, Cariño, hook me up with something for this headache?" Dr. Chakwas rolled her eyes again, and playfully swatted him away when he moved in to kiss her on the cheek, but gave him the pills anyway. "Ooh, _gracias_. You're a lifesaver, _angelita_. Hey, give us a minute, huh? Get yourself a hot coffee or something."

She reminded Cortez about the mask again, but the word coffee got through, and she left them alone with very little fuss.

Neither of them was very good at the talking about it thing. He could tell Cortez knew what was coming and was just as reluctant to say anything. The med bay hummed quietly and glared cleanliness at them.

Ah, fuck it.

"So. About that rain check."

Cortez shrugged, and it was like he was shrugging something off, telling Vega to never mind. "I'd... chalked that one up to oxygen deprivation."

It irritated him. It goddamn near _hurt_. "'Ey, where do you get off-- I take the regs _seriously_ , for fuck's sake. About fraternization and shit. That stuff matters. I get why there are rules about these things."

He'd still suggested it. That was kind of a big deal, and Esteban usually got that, got him.

Cortez took the mask off and laid it on the bunk. He did all the awkwardness things, scratched at his hair, his beard, looked around. "I didn't say no because of the rules, James."

"Uh. So, um. Why then?" Vega's ego demanded a straight answer.

Against all expectation, Cortez burst into laughter. It was a short laugh, but it was such a rarity for him that Vega didn't even mind he was laughing at him. "There I am, with my arm in a sling and hurting like hell, in a moldy Collector ship with you standing there covered in sweat, telling me we should fuck because in an hour we could be dead. Why, Mr. Vega. You do know how to make a guy feel special."

At least they were both smiling now. "Ooh, you want it to be special, do you? What, you want to be wined and dined first, Esteban?"

Cortez raised his brows, and his eyes widened in absolute honesty. "Yes, actually. I do kind of prefer that. That a problem for you, Mr. Vega?"

 _Dios_ , the guy was so the marrying type. He'd known that before, but it hit home now. There was still laughter in his voice, and he wanted to keep hearing that, and he wanted to know where this was all leading, because it was getting him sort of stirred up, this kind of teasing. Esteban could both dish it out and take it like no other. Maybe they could make something of this. Make it work. He didn't know how far he wanted to take it here, though, and when Chakwas marched back in and didn't even say anything about the mask, just glared, it was a relief.

"Lemme get back to you on that," Vega finally said, and clapped Cortez on the arm, the way he always did.

Cortez raised his hand and touched his wrist, rubbed it with his thumb. It sent a bit of a thrill through his skin, like biotics, or static electricity. "Sure."

When he looked up his eyes shone self-satisfaction. He did that to throw him, Vega knew it, he just knew it. And right in front of Dr. Chakwas, too. What an asshole. For a best friend, anyway.

*

They'd wreaked havoc on the shuttle bay, crashing in full speed like that, and Cortez defied all Dr. Chakwas's recommendations by sneaking out of the med bay to fix it up. Luckily the Kodiak was untouched. Vega had no doubt that crashing another shuttle into Cortez's bird would never be either forgotten or forgiven.

The information trickled down into the shuttle bay: the data files Phan had fished out of the Collector ship were already making the rounds, providing new insight into the more drastic steps of indoctrination and the Reapers' scientific achievements. Most of it went right over Vega's head. He was just glad it had been worth it.

They were officially on medical leave, so of course Cortez worked like a horse and Vega tried to keep an eye on the guy. Even though it chafed him a bit when the others picked up their gear and headed out to kick ass, at least he wasn't left ship-side on his own. With the two of them, they managed to get the place more or less back in its original shape. They didn't talk about anything much, but Vega noticed Cortez's touches lingered when he handed him something, and when they worked out the armory inventory, he was more often in his personal space. It was like he was testing some boundary, feeling it out, and once he figured it out, Vega started to do it right back. He'd sort of backed off the guy ever since Robert had died, he realized it now.

Cortez wasn't making any moves, though, and man couldn't live on teasing alone. One night, he left Cortez to finish up cataloguing the armor upgrades and hijacked the kitchen for a while. 

When he came back, Cortez looked at the plate in front of him like he didn't know what to do with it. His mouth opened, but he didn't say anything.

"It's not real chorizo, obviously, can't get that off-Earth, so it's some soy shit, but the sauce is right." Vega plucked the calibrator out of Cortez's hand and gave him a fork. "It's my _abuela_ 's recipe, so don't even think about not tasting it. You don't wanna disrespect her like that. Seriously, man. She'll smack us both from beyond the grave, and she has a killer right hook."

"All right, all right." Cortez raised his hand, fork and all, in surrender. "I... uh, thanks, Mr. Vega. Smells good. So... I take it this is the dining part?"

Vega clinked the other beer bottle with his. "And the wining, but the _cerveza_ is all for me. Doctor's orders, y'know. Can't let you touch it, sorry."

"Gimme that," Cortez said, grinning, and neatly hit the cap off the bottle against the side of the weapon bench.

"Hey, it's your liver, Esteban. Just tryin' to look out for you, buddy." He could only deadpan for so long; eventually he grinned back, dragged a chair closer, and set down his own plate.

The food was pretty okay, considering he'd improvised about half of it due to limited provisions. Cortez seemed to enjoy it, which was all he'd hoped for in the first place. The beer was soon gone, but Cortez fetched some more from what he called his private _private_ stash, and they put their feet up on the terminals and got them good and dusty. It was like old times, on shore leave. There used to be civilians around then, though. And at some point in the evening he'd give Cortez a hard time for going back to his hubby early, and he'd get a drink or two thrown in his face, and the night would go on.

Times changed. His squad was gone. This was what was left, and it was... it was enough. It was good.

He turned to look at Cortez. Steve. He was such a great guy to hang with, to have watching his back. Did he really want to complicate things? Not that sex had ever complicated things for him before, now that he thought about it. He hadn't let it.

"I'd watch out. Those look like deep thoughts you're having," Cortez pointed out, and finished his bottle.

Vega was glad he didn't blush easily. "Nah. I just... nothing. You got any more beer stashed away somewhere?"

"Yeah, right there. Help yourself." Cortez gave him an appreciative look that sank right into him. _Dios_ , it felt nice to be looked at like that. "Having second thoughts? It's okay, you know. I just figured you had some kind of a plan here."

On second thought, he'd rather not have that beer. Had Cortez been sitting that close the whole time? "Well, yeah, but... I don't know where to start. I guess my plan didn't cover this part." 

Cortez leaned closer, and then Vega felt stubble, and then lips. Whoa. Okay. He breathed into the kiss, because it turned into one the moment he opened his mouth, and his hand crept to Cortez's neck out of its own accord, to pull him closer.

Instead, Cortez withdrew, enough to look him in the eye. "You wanna take it up from there?"

The air was thin and his skin glowed hot, just like on the Collector ship. It had been a soft kiss, barely even any tongue, and here he was, almost panting for more. Damn.

"Shit, yeah, but..." He wet his lips, tasted beer. "Look, I don't wanna screw things up, with us, I mean, we're good, right? We're good." His hand curled against the side of Cortez's neck. "Ah, help me out here. I've never done this shit before, never with anyone with that, y'know. Anyone with that... sort of experience."

Cortez made a contemplative noise, one that made Vega wonder why he even opened his mouth. He soldiered on.

"No, I-- I meant, you were _married_. It's one thing when you're both sorta clueless about stuff, y'know? When there's - there's no expectations, or anything. Blank slate. You get me?"

At least he'd managed to make Cortez smile. "Leave it to you, Mr. Vega, to make marriage sound like some kind of a sex education bootcamp." 

Vega nudged him, then turned it into a sideways hug. "'Ey. I meant no disrespect to your _esposo_ , yeah?"

"I know, James. I know." Cortez went sort of quiet. He sat back and grabbed another beer. For a second, Vega thought he'd fucked up. But after taking a sip, Cortez gave him that slow, appreciative look again. "Okay. I do have some expectations. Like you so astutely pointed out... I've been married. I found the love of my life. I married him. I lost him. And I even let go of him. I don't want to... I'm not looking for more of the same."

He'd never spoken so much about the topic in one go before, not within Vega's earshot, anyway. Not that he needed to. Vega had known Rob, too. He almost reached out to pull Cortez close again, but he figured he ought to let the guy have that drink. He tried to find something else to do with his hand instead.

"Keep it simple, that what you mean?"

Cortez let out a deep breath. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean." He put the bottle away and stood up, a bit of a challenge to his expression. "There a reason why you're fidgeting, James?"

Vega followed him up, and finally found a place for that hand, on Cortez's side, nudged half under the belt. "No, no -- just felt kind of weird there, talking about Rob while... y'know."

"Hm." Vega wasn't even surprised when Cortez nodded towards the Kodiak and started tugging him along. The sly half-smile was new, though. "Let's see if we can find another way to feel."

Vega laughed, blood pumping excitement through him, and held onto Cortez's good hand. "Gotta say, man. Not that wild about closed spaces after that last run."

At first all Vega could see inside the shuttle was the glow of Cortez's omni-tool, but then the door clicked shut and the lights flared and dimmed, and Cortez was mouthing the edge of his jaw, moving down to his neck. Vega could barely keep from crushing him close, and when Cortez bit down, he did, his groan echoing from the metal walls.

Cortez managed to crowd him down on the seat, even one-handed, because that was Esteban; in the shuttle, he had the moves. "By the time I'm finished with you, Mr. Vega," he mumbled into Vega's skin, "you'll never want to leave the Kodiak either."

Their laughter turned into shared breaths.

Being stuck in closed places really was all about who you were stuck with.


End file.
